Explanation of the Foregoing Chapter

THE object of throwing this 6th of Numbers into the foregoing form, accompanied by the following brief explanation thereof, is to show that the Nazarite, as he is here represented, under three distinct aspects-namely, devoting himself to the Lord; then becoming defiled by the dead; and lastly, after seven days of uncleanness (the number seven denoting his perfect defilement), shaving his head, beginning his vow over again, and then with sacrifices, and so on, bringing all to a close-presents, in his single person, a type of all the elect, through the whole course of their history upon earth, from the entrance of sin to their ascension to heaven, and the times of restitution of all things.
Renunciation of the world, power in the Spirit, and moral separation from death, here shown by the threefold Nazarite vow as to abstinence from wine, the growth of the hair, and not touching the dead, were ever the great leading characteristics of touching people of God. The world at the fall became wholly defiled; hence, though outwardly linked with an earthly order of things, such as the Jewish dispensation especially was, the saints all the while were not of the world, they were a Nazarite people set apart for the service and glory of God, their hope and their home being in heaven. An hour however arrived, when the whole of this elect family found themselves suddenly and unexpectedly defiled; when they, together with others, became involved in a sin of the deepest atrocity-even the sin of PUTTING JESUS TO DEATH! Human nature in that solemn moment was tested, and fearfully failed: hence they were not exempt from the general guilt. They took no part, it is true, in that act; personally they were innocent; but having a nature in common with those who were willfully guilty, besides being nationally one, or connected, as the Gentile proselytes were, with that apostate race who impiously said, " His blood be on us, and on our children," the sin of that deed was imputed to them. Nazarites though they were in heart and affection, devoted to Him whom their people had killed, they, in the typical terms of this chapter, "SINNED BY THE DEAD." Hard as it is to realize this of the beloved disciple, of the devoted, Mary, and others whom we could name, it was not the less true,-all in that dark hour of this world's history, all, in a sense, stood on one level.
Hence they had to be cleansed, and to begin all over again. And This they did at the feast of Pentecost-seven weeks after Christ had been slain. Then on this " eighth day," for such it literally was, the day of resurrection-life to the saints (the link of connection between the old and the new dispensations) the Spirit being given, the saints by his power were drawn out of association with a world defiled by the blood of " the just one," as well as with the outcast nation of Israel, and brought into a new, a nearer relation to God. And this we believe to be all expressed in this chapter. The Nazarite, as we here read, having defiled the head of his consecration, having come in contact with death, and passed through a perfect period, a full week of uncleanness, shaves his head in token of his renunciation of all his past work, and begins the days of his separation afresh-the time before being lost; and in doing so, gives us a glimpse of the great mystery hidden from ages and generations-even THE CALLING OUT OF THE CHURCH OF GOD IN THIS AGE-Of that heavenly people who are one, both in spirit and in hope, with that blessed one whom the world bath slain. Thus, then, in a figure, the new dispensation commences; the sacrifices, here offered at the beginning of these days being expressive of our present apprehension by faith of the value of Christ; while those at the end, on the other hand, mark our future communion with him, declare our joy in his person and work, after the days of our separation are ended, after we are translated to heaven. And here we may notice two instances in Scripture which bear on this point.
1st. When St. Paul undertook the Nazarite vow (Acts 18:18; 21:23-27), he did not begin, in the regular way, by letting his hair grow, but, on the contrary, by shaving his head. He commenced at that point here contemplated in the Nazarite's course, after he had contracted defilement, and was purified again. And this, it would seem, he advisedly did, because, according to the explanation, here given, this was the point in the ordinance wherein, the position and calling of the Church of God in this dispensation, of which St. Paul himself was the apostle,. was foreshown. This, on his part, was, as it were, the recognition of himself as a Nazarite, morally speaking, belonging to the present, and not to the past dispensation.
2ndly. We have an eminent instance of Nazarite faithfulness in Jer. 35, where Jaazaniah, his brethren, his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites, refuse to drink wine in the temple, rewarded, as we find, with an especial promise on the part of the Lord, that Jonadab the son of Rechab should not want a man to stand before him forever. A promise which doubtless is fulfilled to this day, not only as to the literal preservation of this family, but also as to the favor of God, in a spiritual way, to these children of Rechab. Many a true Nazarite, unknown now as such upon earth, will perhaps in the end be found to have sprung from his loins.
Now, then, returning to our chapter, we find the Nazarite quite in the spirit of liberty, seeing that the period is left to his own choice, keeping his vow, abstaining from wine, letting his hair grow, and avoiding the dead, as before, and then, the days of his separation being fulfilled, bringing his offerings - namely, two lambs and a ram, for sin, for burnt, and for peace offerings, together with a basket of unleavened bread, all expressive, as before said, of our full unhindered apprehension of the value of Christ in the glory.
After which, as we read, the Nazarite shaves the hair of his head (the symbol of power in the Spirit), and devotes it, together with the peace-offerings (the especial type of communion) to God. This is most blessed. It shows the saints in the kingdom rendering all praise, all honor, all glory, to Him to whom alone it is due, casting their crowns at His feet, the language of their hearts being, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy Name give glory!" And here, as to the hair being expressive of spiritual power, the instance of Samson may be taken. As soon as he was shorn of his locks, seeing that his strength lay in his hair, he was utterly powerless, the helpless victim of others. This, in his case, was miraculous, herein he differed, from the common order of Nazarites this, however, with regard to the ordinance in general, showed that the hair, as here stated, was the symbol of strength in the Lord; While shaving the head, after he had been defiled by the dead, on the contrary, denoted weakness, prostration, humiliation, on the part of the Nazarite. Different from this altogether was the same act at the end; there, shaving the hair, and burning it under the sacrifice of the peace offerings, being expressive of praise, of the Church in resurrection hereafter giving the whole glory to Christ, and saying, " All things come of Thee, and of Thine own have we given thee " (1 Chron. 29:14).
Then again the priest, having presented the wave breast and heave shoulder, one being, it appears, expressive of the love, the other of the power of Christ, as apprehended by the saints in resurrection, the separate one at length tastes the juice of the grape, " THE NAZARITE MAY DRINK WINE," the symbol of earthly joy and of earthly communion. So it will be in the kingdom, this world being then the abode of the visible glory of Christ, being redeemed by that blood which defiles it at present, the reproach having passed away from the land of Judea where Jesus was crucified, the Church of God, though in Heaven, will have association therewith, will rejoice in its deliverance from the power of the spoiler, and so take the lead in the mingling chorus of Heaven and earth in that day. And here, in connection with this, we may turn to notice the case of Jesus Himself He when on earth in heart was a Nazarite of course; a heavenly stranger in the midst of a corrupt generation. Ostensibly, however, he was not so, unlike John, who both ceremonially and in spirit was such, he "came eating and drinking " (Matt. 11:19), offering earthly joy, as the heir of the throne of Judah, to Israel. Now, however, His grace being rejected, He is morally such, in the full sense of the word, having taken upon Him His vow, when, on the night of His betrayal, He said to His disciples, " I will not henceforth drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom " (Matt. 26:29). This marks the calling of the saints in this dispensation, namely, that of a separate people, waiting like Christ, with whom they are one, whose elect body they form, for the day when they, together with Him, "may drink wine, may take that joy in this earth, which because of its defilement, it denies them at present.
Then lastly, at the close of this chapter, shifting our view of the subject a little, we see in AARON AND HIS SONS, another type of the Church. Here Christ and His people appear as Nazarites no more-no longer as strangers and pilgrims on earth, but as exalted to heaven, and there (like Melchizedec, the king and the priest, greeting Abraham in the day of his victory) pronouncing a blessing on Israel. Thus, in this beautiful figure, we see that as the elect nation of Israel hereafter will be made to minister blessing to the rest of the world, so the elect Church, on the other hand, the Bride, the Lamb's Wife, one in spirit with Him who is the Fountain-head of life to His people, will wait in that day on her blessed ministry of love to the earthly people of God.
The above is the more enlarged view of this subject, embracing, as it does, the whole elect family, from the days of Adam to the catching up of the Church. In which case the seven days of uncleanness (see verse 9; Num. 19.11), correspond with the brief interval between the crucifixion of Christ and the descent of the Spirit (also, be it remembered, a sevenfold period, of forty-nine days-one of perfect defilement). But if, on the other hand, restricting our view to one nation alone, this type be regarded as more especially Jewish, as relating, in the first place, to the imputed transgression of the faithful remnant of old, and next to the quickening and blessing of the remnant hereafter, then these seven days would denote the present period of Israel's estrangement from God; while the rest of the chapter (with the exception of verses 22-29, wherein the house of Aaron, as in the other case expresses the Church) traces the course of the elect seed from the point when they will repent and believe, to the time of their full acceptance with God as a nation.
Thus in the same way that as, on applying the microscope to some object in nature-to an insect or flower, for instance-we discover wonders and beauties therein which the naked eye _could never have seen; so, in this chapter, which, superficially viewed, merely presents us with an ancient Levitical ordinance, we are surprised and delighted to discover secrets of grace for which we were little prepared. "Few there are," it has been observed, "who make it their business to search the Scriptures for unheeded prophecies, overlooked mysteries, and strange harmonies;" and this chapter is a proof, that were we more diligent in this way than we are, our search would be amply repaid; seeing that herein we trace our own history-yea, the upward path of the saints from this death-defiled world into the very sanctuary of God. Thus the Lord takes delight in tracing His ways for our instruction and comfort. Thus he teaches us, however deep and hopeless our defilement by nature may be, that there is, in the atonement of Christ, far more than a remedy. Here we learn that His is not merely a sin offering, but also a burnt offering, yea, a peace offering, even the communion of the Church, by the Spirit, with the Father and the Son; and that the day is at hand when we shall fully enter into, and rejoice in the value of all that He is, and of all that He has done for His people. The Lord give us grace more and more to feel a oneness of spirit with the Nazarite of old when he devoted his hair to the Lord, and together with him and also the sweet psalmist of Israel, to cry, " Not unto us, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth's sake. E. D.